Russia has announced that it has commenced drilling operations in the Barents Sea with its nuclear submarines.  

Russia’s Northern Fleet said in a statement that several of its nuclear submarines were involved in exercises designed to “train manoeuvring in stormy conditions.”

It added that its warships tasked with protecting northwest Russia’s Kola Peninsula, where several naval bases are located, would join the maneuvers.

On Friday, the Defense Ministry said that three aviation regiments of the Northern Fleet took part in the exercise to defend the Kola Peninsula, home to the ballistic missile submarines.

This exercise included about 20 sorties from airports in the Murmansk region and was carried out in cooperation with the naval forces operating in the Barents Sea.

This announcement comes after defence minister Sergei Shoigu said all Russian nuclear forces have been reinforced with additional personnel as President Vladimir Putin ordered his nuclear forces to be put on high alert.

There are currently about 20 Northern Fleet warships and support vessels sailing the Barents Sea.   

The Barents Observer reported last week that Russia had closed off a giant area in the Barents Sea, including large parts of the Norwegian sector, for military activity.

The report noted that the danger alert for the area started from the Varanger fjord in the east to almost Bear Island in the northwest and had been marked with “Impact Area for Russian Missiles.”